The upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court race will be incredibly important for the people of our great state. The Wisconsin Supreme Court often weighs in on important issues that range from criminal law to environmental regulation and property rights. Although the court can seem far removed from the lawmakers and politicians where we focus much of our attention, the members of the court and the decisions they make can have lasting impact on our daily lives.

That’s why it is critical that voters get to know the real JoAnne Kloppenburg. Despite her claims of being “non-partisan” and “independent,” her record tells a much different story. During her previous attempt at running for the Supreme Court she made clear from the start that she would be beholden to big government unions and special interests trying to roll back Governor Walker’s reforms. Among those special interests to whom Judge Kloppenburg is still beholden are radical environmental activists who have helped to bankroll her campaign.

Judge Kloppenburg’s previous campaigns have been assisted by supporters from groups such as the Midwest Environmental Advocates, Clean Wisconsin and others who frequently work to promote job-killing regulations and roll back property owners’ rights. Is there any question as to how Judge Kloppenburg would rule on any cases involving those rights?

Judge Kloppenburg’s record on these issues speaks for itself. Prior to her current role, JoAnne Kloppenburg worked in the Department of Justice bringing actions against private property owners. As Richard Moore of the Lakeland Times noted in 2011, “when it comes to shoreland zoning and property rights: JoAnne Kloppenburg has been no friend of non-conforming properties.” In other words, the vast majority of properties along Wisconsin’s lakes.

These properties are a key part of Wisconsin’s sporting heritage, vital to our tourism industry, and a big part of who we are as a state. Despite this, Kloppenburg’s record shows that she views these properties, and the rights of their owners, as an obstacle to her radical agenda. Judge Kloppenburg went so far as to describe these properties as harmful and compared them to a noxious salvage yard. Wisconsin cannot afford a justice who is this out of touch with real Wisconsinites.

In one particularly heinous case Kloppenburg filed suit against a couple who purchased land to build a home for their daughter and had received town and county approval. The couple’s crime: not knowing the property they had already obtained a mortgage for was on wetlands. In a plea to Governor Doyle the couple wrote “Our property is being held hostage by the government, and we have been deemed guilty by a government employee.” This plea fell on deaf ears.

Wisconsin depends on its abundant natural resources for everything from hunting and fishing, to tourism and business. Protecting these resources is important, and that’s why we need a justice who understands the difference between common sense and environmental extremism. Our property rights are a key part of the Wisconsin tradition, a tradition we have worked hard to build upon and defend in Madison. It is clear that a Justice Kloppenburg would never stop working to roll back our property rights and undo many of the reforms of the past few years.